Notes and Observations from UNC Football's First Fall Practice

The UNC football team held its first official practice of the fall season Wednesday morning in Chapel Hill, exactly one month before the Tar Heels will take the field against South Carolina in Charlotte.

Here are my notes and observations from the practice:

Buy stock in receiver Tez Walker. The ACC media are clearly all-in on the Kent State transfer, having voted him to the preseason all-conference team. Walker took snaps with the first team offense all morning and took a tunnel screen from Drake Maye to the house for a touchdown. Walker’s combination of size and speed will make him a valuable target for Maye this season.
Jonathan Adorno, William Barnes, Spencer Rolland, Corey Gaynor and Coastal Carolina transfer Willie Lampkin were the first offensive line group out on the field. Fans clamoring to see former five-star recruit Zach Rice had to wait until the second team played. “We’ve just gotta keep getting better,” Brown said about the group. “We’ve talked about it every year, but then we play six or we may play seven. I’d like to play eight at least.”
For the most part, the top four defensive linemen were Kaimon Rucker, Jahvaree Ritzie, Des Evans and Myles Murphy. UNC’s defensive line can almost do nothing but improve from 2022, when they only registered 17 sacks in 14 games. Former five-star prospect Travis Shaw has not yet made the breakthrough to the first unit, but according to Brown is making strides in his fitness. Shaw is down to 340 pounds from 375. “He’s made the weight loss that he needed to,” Brown said. “How many plays can he play in the heat? That’s been one of the questions.”
UNC’s new-look secondary featured East Tennessee State transfer and FCS All-American Alijah Huzzie playing with the first team, along with Marcus Allen at the other cornerback spot. Don Chapman, Georgia State transfer Stick Lane, redshirt freshman Tayon Holloway and DeAndre Boykins also saw high snap counts with the first team at safety and nickelback.
Maye missed a few deep passes Carolina fans are used to seeing him complete, overshooting Kamari Morales and Kobe Paysour on go routes. Brown didn’t seem stressed about the rust, though. “I don’t think Drake’s changed in any way,” Brown said, “other than he’s more confident.”
Depth at linebacker remains a concern. Cedric Gray and Power Echols played with the first team, with Sebastian Cheeks and Amare Campbell seeing time as reserves. Cheeks is coming off an injury which kept him out most of last season, and Campbell is a true freshman.

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Notes and Observations from UNC Football’s First Fall Practice

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